1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backlight assembly and a display device having the backlight assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a backlight assembly capable of selectively emitting light in each reflection region and a display device having the backlight assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a display device is an interface device converting electrical format data from an input device into an image. Examples of display devices include cathode ray tube (CRT) type display devices, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, plasma display panel (PDP) devices, field emission display (FED) devices, etc.
CRT type display devices have a number of benefits, such as a low price, a rapid input/output speed, a large viewing angle, etc. However, CRT type display devices also have a number of drawbacks, such as a large volume, a high power consumption, etc. In order to overcome many of the drawbacks of CRT type display devices, flat panel display devices have recently been developed.
Flat panel display devices such as LCD devices, PDP devices and FED devices have many merits; for example, they are lightweight and thin. As a result, flat panel display devices are widely used for television receivers, a portable computers, cellular phones, etc.
However, flat panel display devices include complex and high priced parts. For example, LCD devices generally include an LCD panel and a backlight assembly. The LCD panel has two glass substrates and a liquid crystal installed between the two glass substrates. The backlight assembly provides light for the LCD panel. The LCD panel is manufactured using a complex process, and includes high priced optical components such as a polarized film, a prism sheet, etc. It is also relative difficult and expensive to manufacture a large LCD device. In addition, a single defective cell formed on the glass substrates of the LCD panel may render the entire LCD panel defective.
PDP devices display an image using light that is generated by applying a high voltage to a gas mixture contained in a cell, to induce collisions of electrons in the mixture gas. PDP devices are very expensive, and include cooling devices to dissipate the significant heat generated by the high power consumption of the PDP device.
In an FED device, vacuum is formed between a pair of glass substrates. An electromagnetic wave is discharged from the one of the glass substrates, and passes through a fluorescent material. The electromagnetic wave strikes the other of the glass substrates to display an image. FED devices are very expensive, and very sensitive to the surface of the glass substrates. Technically complex vacuum equipment is required for the manufacturing process of FED devices.
Therefore, development of a display device with a simple structured display panel and/or a simple structured backlight assembly, with few defects and low price is required.